Fabrication and Analytical Characterization of 2-D Braided Textile Metal Matrix Composites

2-D Braided Textile 금속복합재료의 성형과 특성 해석

A new 2-D braided textile metal matrix composite was developed and characterized. The constituent materials consist of PAN type carbon fiber as reinforcements and pure aluminum as matrices. The braided preforms of different braider yarn angles were fabricated. For a fixed bundle size of 12K, three braider yarn angles was selected: $30^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, and $60^{\circ}$. The braided preforms were infiltrated with pure Al by vacuum assisted squeeze casting. Through the investigation of melt pressing methods and the effects of process parameters such as applied pressure, and pouring temperature, the optimal process conditions were identified as follows: applied pressure of 60MPa, pouring temperature of $800^{\circ}C$. Using the measured geometric parameters, 3-D engineering constants of metal matrix composites have been determined from the elastic model, which utilizes the coordinate transformation and the averaging of stiffened and compliance constants based upon the volume of each reinforcement and matrix material.